The One Where Steve is Wee and
by Weesta
Summary: Mini wrimo inspired ficlets where Steve has been de-aged some Avengers deal better than others.
1. Tony Doesn't Like It

"Pepper? You know he's not going to be with us for long."

Pepper shrugged as she continued to unpack and organize the clothing she'd purchased. "Long or short, he still needs something to wear. It's not like we can let him run around naked."

Tony grimaced then moved closer to the bed to inspect the small garments - short-sleeved t-shirts, long-sleeved button downs, undershirts and pajamas. "Is everything you bought blue?" he asked waving a garment he plucked off the bed like a flag.

Pepper smiled sweetly. "Have you seen what wearing blue does for his eyes?"

Tony rolled his eyes with great exaggeration, but did not answer.

"This is weird, Pep...right?"

"Weirder than aliens attacking New York? Weirder than exploding soldiers?" She shrugged again. "At least this time the weird is very sweet with adorable manners."

Then Pepper smiled with a goopey expression on her face that all of the women around the tower from Darcy to Jane melted into every time they talked about "wee Steve". All of the women except Natasha, but even she had a decidedly softer and indulgent manner around the tow-headed youngster. THAT was the weirdest part.

Tony heaved a dramatic sigh and tossed the shirt back onto the bed. Getting in Pepper's space when she was organizing was just asking for trouble.

Feeling at odds with the universe and everything Tony made his way up to the common area. It was getting close to what Darcy unilaterally decided was "dinner time" so many preparations were happening in the kitchen. Bruce was sautéing something that smelled like heaven. Barton was making his magic mixture that coated the best garlic bread. And Thor and Steve were standing shoulder to shoulder chopping many vegetables. Well, someone had dragged a chair in so Steve could stand almost shoulder to shoulder with Thor. Both blonde heads were bent seriously over their task, but Tony could hear the rumble of Thor's voice as he recounted some story or other and Steve's accompanying giggle.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes, Sir. I'm recording from multiple angles."

In addition to images of Steve and Thor hard at work, Jarvis made sure to also capture the particularly goopey expression on Tony's face - at Ms. Potts request.


	2. Thor is Sweet and Darcy is a Stalker

de-aged Steve Rogers won't leave me alone! SCHMOOOOOOOP! a href=" /works/2582132"Here on AO3/a

Darcy knew she was being a creepy stalker. She knew it, and yet…well, she was in too deep to stop now.

In her defense, now that Steve was back to normal and everything was fine she wasn't really stalking him. It was more of a historical preservation thing. Yeah, totally for the sake of posterity.

AND if you wanted to get technical about it, she was actually stalking Thor, but she'd been doing that since he first arrived on Earth; she was basically his social media gateway so that wasn't new and not creepy at all.

Darcy bit her lip as she scrolled forward through the video footage that Jarvis had compiled from the time Steve was small. She willed herself not to be distracted by adorable eating or adorable sparring or adorable story time or anything else. Stark had promised Steve that Jarvis would turn over all recordings to him, so Darcy just had to get to the one she wanted first.

"Yes! This is the one! Jarvis, split screen please," Darcy exclaimed.

Darcy's eyes avidly skipped over the images in each quarter of the screen. The top, left image was from an overhead, static camera. The top, right image was from a static camera stationed near the window showing a wide view of the common area. It showed that the lights were on in the kitchen, but the rest of the living area was in low light. The giant TV screen displayed "The Wizard of Oz" beyond Thor's broad shoulders on the couch.

The screen on the lower left had images from a camera attached to the inner wall facing toward the window, but the angle was less of an overhead angle and more focused on people. At the moment the lower right portion of the screen had the same image as the lower left.

"These two," Darcy asked Jarvis while pointing, "they'll follow the people, right?"

"Yes, Miss Lewis. The lower left camera will follow Prince Thor and the lower right will follow Captain Rogers."

"Please get rid of the two on top and make these two bigger." Darcy clapped with glee as Jarvis followed her instructions and then leaned forward eagerly.

After Steve had been regressed to the age of a nine year old child, everyone in the Tower went a little crazy trying to figure out how to fix it. They had lived through a little over forty-eight hours of scrambling and speculation, science and magic. But in the middle of all of the craziness the adults were keenly aware of needing to keep Steve safe and protected. Even when the rest of the building was franticly working through caffeine-fueled theories, Steve was never alone.

Maybe it was because Thor had plucked him out of danger in the middle of battle when he was disoriented and confused immediately after the change; like a duckling, Steve imprinted on the Thunder god and seemed to be the most comfortable when the much larger man was present. So when Thor wasn't acting as liaison with Asgardians who were trying to fix the problem, he was with Steve.

The video Darcy was searching for showed Thor seated in the middle of the couch, his legs stretched out casually with his feet up on the sturdy coffee table. Thor was watching the movie – by the audio Darcy could tell that Dorothy and her friends were about to enter the Emerald City. Steve was sprawled on the couch to Thor's right, sleeping with the abandon only afforded to the very young. Regular sized Steve would've needed the whole couch to accommodate his length if he wanted to stretch out, but in his reduced state, the quarter of the couch he was sprawled on was more than he needed.

Steve's head was cushioned on Thor's thigh with his head was turned toward the TV and his left hand curled up by his cheek. Thor's right hand was snaked under Steve's arm and settled gently on the boy's chest. Steve's hand rested on top of Thor's and he curled himself under Thor's arm like he was Steve's favorite blanket. Steve had had an asthma attack earlier in the afternoon which freaked everyone out. Bruce gave him the all clear once the medicine kicked in, but the incident put everyone on edge. It was one thing for a spell to turn Steve back into a feisty kid, but the very real danger his fragile health presented added new urgency to fix the situation.

"Hey, how's he doing?" Jane slid onto the couch on Thor's left side and tucked herself under his free arm.

"He is breathing well and has been sleeping for a little while now," Thor responded softly.

Jane tipped her head against Thor's shoulder, but her eyes were on Steve. "Sleep's probably the best thing for him." She reached across Thor's lap and gently brushed Steve's hair back from his face. "If he's not watching the movie, maybe we should just put him to bed."

"If that is what you think is best," Thor replied looking down fondly at the boy as well. They sat for a moment companionably marveling at the stranger in their midst who had so easily won the hearts of everyone in the Tower.

Jane pushed herself away from Thor and sat up on her knees. "I'll go get his pajamas and stuff ready."

Thor caught her right hand in his left as she began to rise and brought it to his lips as his eyes met hers. "You have a kind heart, my Jane."

With her free hand Jane brushed a stray lock of hair away from Thor's face in a gesture that was familiar to Darcy. "As do you, Prince Thor." When Jane leaned in to kiss Thor Darcy couldn't see her face because her back was to the camera, but Darcy had seen the soft expression enough times to have it memorized and she wasn't here for the Jane and Thor show anyway.

Jane pulled away from Thor and walked away from the camera to go get things ready. Darcy gestured animatedly at the screen before her as she scolded. "How do you walk away from this, Jane? Have I taught you nothing?"

In the meantime, Thor turned his attention to the boy sprawled on the couch. "Come my young friend, Jane says it's time for you to be in bed." Thor eased his free hand under Steve's head between his leg and Steve's shoulders. He gently pushed Steve up into a seated position. Steve started slightly, but didn't rouse completely as Thor shifted his weight and rose from the couch. Darcy cursed inwardly as Thor's massive frame blocked Steve from view, but then he stepped to the side just slightly to get a better grip on Steve as he lifted him from the couch.

Darcy sat back in her rolling chair, eyes wide and fists covering her mouth as Thor settled Steve against his shoulder. The first camera showed Thor, tall and mighty, gently rubbing circles on Steve's back to soothe him back down into slumber. Steve's legs dangled from his seat on Thor's right arm. The second camera showed Steve, sleepy and trusting, rubbing his check against Thor's shoulder until he found a spot he liked and relaxed with a sigh. Steve's left hand wrapped securely around Thor's bicep and his right arm made its way around Thor's neck.

It was embarrassing, but Darcy was pretty sure she made some sort of dolphin noise when Thor turned and walked away from the camera and Steve's little hand slid off of Thor's arm as he completely gave himself over to slumber.

"Darcy!"

Darcy yelped in alarm and jumped out of her chair smashing her knee in the process. She whirled around guiltily and tried to come up with a rational explanation for her actions while balancing on one leg.

"Sweetest thing ever!" was what she managed to choke out.

Adult-sized Steve Rogers was shaking his head with disapproval from the doorway. "Darcy, we talked about this…"

"I know," Darcy interrupted, "and this was selfish, I know…but Jane was telling me that Thor had to…you know…put you to bed" Darcy gestured helplessly behind her at the screens. "And you two were just so sweet."

"Jarvis, please erase…"

"WAIT!" Darcy interrupted again throwing her arms wide as if blocking the screen would somehow prevent Jarvis from doing his work. "Can I please just show this one bit to Jane? And Natasha?"

Steve sighed. "Darcy, it's a matter of security. The fact that someone was able to do that to me…make me so vulnerable," his eyes cut away and Darcy could see how uncomfortable he was. "Just once was bad enough. But if this got out and it was widely known do you know how many more yahoos would give it a try? And maybe succeed in making it permanent?"

Darcy shook her head, "I know…" She was really starting to feel like a heel.

"But it's more than that," Steve reached up and rubbed the back of his neck as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, "It's personal, you know?"

Darcy grinned widely, "Exactly!"

Steve's brow creased in a frown.

"It _was_ personal, and meant so much more to all of us because you're _ours_. We're family." Darcy's hopes began to rise as Steve remained silent. "This isn't Thor smashing mugs and trending on Twitter. This…" Darcy gestured behind her again, "is just for us."

Steve stood with his hands on his hips. He looked up at the screen and shook his head softly. "I don't understand why this…"

Darcy turned to see Thor standing patiently in the elevator waiting to arrive at the designated floor doing the "baby bounce" and rocking Steve in his arms.

Darcy emitted another dolphin squeak. "Sooooo cute!" slipped out before she could restrain herself. She looked apologetically at Steve.

Steve chuckled and that's when Darcy knew she would win. So she pulled out all the stops and turned on all the charm. "We don't need to keep forty-eight hours of the most adorable Avenger ever but can't we keep these ten minutes? Please?" Darcy clasped her hands in front of her chest and used the puppy-dog eyes. "Not even keep it permanently, just long enough to show Jane, Natasha, Pepper and Maria."

"Hey," Steve protested, "that list is getting longer."

"Think of it as a uniquely Avenger family photo album. Please?" Darcy willed Steve to see in her face that she wasn't mocking or being sarcastic. There was something so special in those moments that she wasn't willing to lose without a fight.

"Photo album, huh?"

"Yes!" Darcy impulsively rushed forward and grabbed Steve in a hug. It was kind of like hugging a brick wall. A brick wall with a tiny waist. Steve seemed startled by the contact and patted her shoulder awkwardly.

Darcy gave him an extra squish before she let go and stepped back. Wee Steve was much more open to hugs and cuddles and clearly Big Steve needed more of that in his life. Darcy slid her arm around Steve's waist and pulled him toward the console where she'd been sitting.

"What do _you_ want to keep?" Darcy asked.

Steve looked surprised that she'd asked the question.

"Well, if you want to erase everything, that's fine…but didn't anything happen in the last two days that was worth saving?"

Steve smiled shyly. "I did enjoy reading with Pepper…"

Darcy grinned and pushed Steve into a rolling chair. "Stay right here. I need five minutes to make popcorn. Jarvis, let's go to the beginning!" She skipped away before Steve could protest and sent a group text to the ladies stating "FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT 5 MIN!"


	3. Won't Let You Talk to a Lady That Way

The One Where Steve is Wee and Won't Let You Talk to a Lady That Way

The battle was over, tensions were high and no one knew quite what to do. The Avengers, sans Bruce who was still calming down, were assembled in a suite of medical rooms. Everyone was looking at Steve who was silent, shaken and about a third of the size he was supposed to be.

Tony waved his hands, not for the first time. "Didn't emanybody/em see what happened?"

"The rest of us were just as busy as you, Stark," Natasha replied dryly.

"In retrospect it is obvious that the creatures were just a diversion," Thor added. "Clearly the goal was not to defeat us, but rather to create an opening for this to happen." He gestured toward Steve who was seated behind him on an exam table, scrawny legs dangling over the edge, bare feet swinging idly while he listened to the conversation swirling around him.

Barton was able to unearth scrubs from a nearby cabinet, but the size of them was laughable compared to the tiny boy. Instead, Steve stayed wrapped up in Thor's cloak. Steve refused the offer of a blanket; he seemed partial to the yards of bright red fabric he was swimming in.

Tony was unable to stand still any longer. He strode away from the table toward the wall, and then immediately whirled back. "But this…? This is weird. This is emtoo/em weird. Even for us, right?"

It wasn't clear why Stark in particular was troubled by Steve's transformation, but he was irritated by everyone else's lack of hysteria.

"We can't even be sure this is Cap, can we? It could be some sort of changeling that was left behind in his Kevlar." Tony was babbling as he glanced at the boy on the table. Even as he said it, he knew it was ridiculous. There were very few surviving pictures of Steve as a young man before he received the serum, but it was pretty clear that this boy would've grown up to be him.

"Didn't you see emanything/em?" Tony returned his attention to the group of adults, and aimed his question at Natasha. She was unperturbed by his tone of accusation and his volume; she understood that he was processing the situation aloud.

"You're supposed to be the 'all knowing, all seeing' super-spy!" Tony made dramatic air quotes with his fingers as he drifted in and out of Natasha's personal space. "You don't know who did this. You don't know what caused it. And you don't have anything particularly helpful to say." Tony's voice got louder and louder as he continued ranting. "If you can't even give us an avenue to pursue, what the hell good are you?"

"Hey!" There was a thwack as two bare feet hit the ground. "That's no way to talk to a lady!"

Blue eyes blazing, Steve stepped around Thor until he stood between Tony and Natasha. Tony was startled into taking a step back.

"Oh, that's no changeling," Barton chortled from over by the door. Natasha frowned slightly and shook her head at him. Clint choked back a laugh. Steve didn't notice the by-play because he was too focused on the offending party.

Tony stood speechless as the tiny, furious boy stared him down. Steve drew himself up to all of his four foot height and insisted, "You owe her an apology!"

"The jaw! Did you see what he just did with his jaw?" Clint nearly doubled over with mirth.

Tony eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline and he finally got his voice back. "Apology? I owe…? Are you kidding…?" Tony shut his eyes hard and shook his head almost like he was trying to do an internal reset. But it didn't work; when he opened his eyes, Tony was fired up. "Listen kid…"

Tony stepped closer to the miniature version of Steve with a finger out to point or poke. Steve didn't move, but Thor did. He placed his hand on the back of Steve's neck and loomed.

"Don't."

Steely blue eyes met brown, and even in his current state of mind, Tony knew better than to cross the Asgardian. He held his hands up in surrender and took a step back. "I guess we know who's first on the babysitting roster."

"That ain't an apology," Steve said doggedly. Clint had to physically turn away, shoulders heaving with silent laughter.

"That ain't…" Tony echoed. Once again Tony closed his eyes, but this time he pinched the bridge of his nose. When he opened his eyes Tony turned his gaze to Natasha. He made an exaggerated bow. "Miss Romanoff or whatever name you're using this week, I abjectly and humbly apologize for any insult I may have caused you. It was unseemly for me to raise my voice and I shall endeavor to be more understanding of your delicate sensibilities in the future herewith."

Steve raised a skeptical eyebrow and looked at Natasha. She gave him a brief nod. He nodded in return; if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for him.

Tony continued his nonsensical babbling as he bowed his way out the door. "Dost someone have the wherewithal to find the tiny changeling some pants? A quest perchance? An undertaking best undertook by a pot of peppers perhaps?"

The look Steve gave Tony as he exited was disapproving and confused. It was that expression that finally sent Barton over the deep end and he had to leave the room. Peals of laughter echoed back to those who remained.

Natasha reached over and gently ruffled Steve's hair. "Thank you for standing up for me."

Steve was suddenly bashful. "You're welcome, ma'am."

Thor and Natasha exchanged smiles over Steve's bowed head. "Come my young friend," Thor said as he scooped Steve up with one arm, "let us find you something less cumbersome to wear."

"I can walk," Steve protested.

"Indeed you can," Thor agreed, "but an overlong cape can be quite disastrous as I learned when I borrowed the All-Father's formal robes for a game when I was a boy." Steve's eyes went wide. Thor swept out of the medical room as he launched into his tale. Natasha went in the other direction looking for Bruce to catch him up on everything that he'd missed.


	4. Tony Throws an Ice Cream Party

It all started because Steve was awed by the kitchen. Not only the kitchen itself which was pretty much the size of the apartment he'd grown up in, but the assortment of food contained in the fridge, cabinets and pantry. It was difficult for him to reconcile the amount of food choices with his experience. In fact, it was so overwhelming that he couldn't make a choice at all. Instead of diving in to every over processed, sugar filled option available, he politely asked for a bread and butter sandwich. No amount of persuasion on Pepper's part got him to change his mind. He just hopped off the stool with a "thank you, ma'am" and walked himself and his pathetically empty plate over to the table.

Tony wasn't having it.

Later that night, after a meal of grilled chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes and heavily buttered rolls thoughtfully planned by Pepper, Tony announced that he was taking care of dessert. He sent everyone away from the table and insisted that they take a walk around the tower to "work up an appetite" and "make room for dessert". Everyone played along; Clint grumbled about how Steve wasn't actually taking a walk because he was getting a ride on Thor's shoulders. But in a move that was entirely unsurprising, Steve was on Clint's shoulders by the time the group returned.

Tony was very pleased with Steve's wide-eyed "Oh" when he took in the array of treats lined up on the island in the kitchen. Steve leaned forward with his arms crossed on the top of Barton's head to get a better look.

Clint nodded his head in appreciation and rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Nice."

The kitchen island had been transformed from plain working surface to an abundant display of every possible topping option for build-your-own sundae. Colorful plastic bowls held sprinkles (they were not "jimmies" no matter how loudly Barton argued his case), crushed chocolate candies (name brand, of course), nuts, gummy candies and assorted other dry ingredients. A second section of the counter held sauces – chocolate, strawberry, caramel. There was an area with assorted fresh fruit. And multiple whipped topping options.

Tony was standing at the counter near the sink. He clapped his hands to get the attention of his audience. "So, this is how this works…" He gestured grandly to three commercial sized vats of ice cream beside him and started scooping ice cream as he spoke. "Everyone starts with a bowl of ice cream; I kept it simple, just the three basics – vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry - because obviously the fun comes from everything that goes on top."

Tony passed a bowl of pink ice cream to Pepper. "Ladies first!"

She gave him a _look_ and passed the strawberry ice cream back to him. He smirked and switched the offending bowl with a pre-scooped bowl of vanilla.

"Gotcha, didn't I?" Tony said with a wink.

"About twelve percent," Pepper said with a smile as she sailed past him and headed for the toppings. Steve sat up a little taller on Clint's shoulders to watch.

Natasha accepted the bowl of strawberry ice cream and stepped next to Pepper. They began chatting as though the toppings were a matter of great interest. Natasha nodded toward Pepper's bowl. "You put the sauce on first too?" she asked as she poured a liberal helping of strawberry sauce on her ice cream.

"Mmmm," Pepper responded as she carefully covered every inch of visible ice cream in her bowl with chocolate sauce. "Always the sauce first. But then everything else I just toss on randomly."

Steve watched avidly as Pepper and Natasha crafted their sundaes with deliberation. Natasha kept with her fruit theme – fresh berries and whipped cream. Pepper was more focused on chocolate, adding M&Ms, chocolate sprinkles and chocolate whipped cream. As the ladies neared the edge of the island where Clint was loitering with Steve, Steve piped up, "That looks real good, Miss Pepper."

She grinned up at him. "And it tastes even better! It's so much fun when you build it yourself."

Pepper patted his leg encouragingly as she walked by and winked at Clint. Meanwhile, Tony continued to scoop ice cream.

Clint moved to the opposite side of the island so Steve had a good vantage point to observe the building, but it was close enough to start sampling the toppings. Idly Clint passed up a gummy bear to Steve while Bruce got to work on his sundae.

"You don't like a lot of stuff on your ice cream, Doctor Bruce?" Steve asked as Bruce bypassed everything except caramel and whipped cream.

"Not so much, Steve," Bruce explained as he plunked a lone cherry on top of the skillfully crafted mountain of Redi-Whip. "I stick with the classics."

Clint passed up a Swedish fish.

"What's your flavor, Barton?" Tony asked from across the kitchen.

"Chocolate!" Clint passed up an Oreo to Steve.

"What about you, Steve?"

"I'd like vanilla, please."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Tony proclaimed.

Steve leaned over a little to talk in Clint's right ear. "Did I pick the wrong one?" he asked worried.

"No," Clint said firmly as he chucked a jawbreaker at Tony's head and hit him above his ear. Tony yelped and was ready to complain but stopped at a glare from Barton. "You did not pick the wrong one."

"It's what I usually get with my ma," Steve explained.

"I enjoy the vanilla as well," Thor stated as he stepped up to the island. "It combines well with so many of the topping options."

Steve gaped as Thor added topping to his bowl with abandon. The Asgardian showed no hesitation and added a completely random assortment of toppings to the mix. Then he crowned it all with a healthy dose of whipped cream.

"Are you gonna eat all that?" Steve asked awed.

"Indeed, my friend, but I will wait until you are ready with yours as well."

Stark approached with two bowls of ice cream; one for Clint and one for Steve. "Alright, you two are up next."

Barton dragged a stool over for Steve to kneel on as he assessed his options. Barton added caramel and Cracker Jacks to his ice cream. Steve chose chocolate sauce, rainbow sprinkles and whipped cream. He was about to hop down when his eye was drawn to the bowl of Sour Patch Kids.

Clint saw the hesitation. He raised his eyebrows at the boy. Steve bit his lip considering. Then, instead of scooping a few of the candies onto his sundae he simply picked up the whole bowl and brought it with him to the table.

"Atta boy," Clint approved.

Hands full, Steve clambered into the chair next to Thor at the table. His grin was delighted and his eyes sparkled with mischief. Steve and Thor clinked spoons and then both of them dove into their desserts.

Pepper smiled indulgently and then rose from the table. Tony leaned against the counter eating ice cream directly from the carton. She kissed him on the cheek. "You're a softie, Mr. Stark."

He leered suggestively, "Not when it counts, Ms. Potts."


End file.
